WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- President Bush lifted an executive order banning offshore oil drilling on Monday and urged Congress to follow suit .

If President Bush can persuade Congress , more oil rigs like this one off Canada could appear off U.S. shores .

Citing the high prices Americans are paying at the pump , Bush said from the White House Rose Garden that allowing offshore oil drilling is `` one of the most important steps we can take '' to reduce that burden .

However , the move is largely symbolic as there is also a federal law banning offshore drilling .

`` This means that the only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil reserves is action from the U.S. Congress , '' Bush said . Watch Bush announce lifting of ban ''

Bush has been pushing Congress to repeal the law passed in 1981 .

`` There is no excuse for delay , '' the president said in a Rose Garden statement last month . iReport.com : Is drilling the answer ?

`` In the short run , the American economy will continue to rely largely on oil , and that means we need to increase supply here at home , '' Bush said , adding that there is no more pressing issue for many Americans than gas prices .

Bush 's father , President George H.W. Bush , signed the executive order in 1990 banning offshore drilling . See where offshore drilling is allowed ''

The issue has gained prominence in the presidential race . Sen. John McCain recently announced he supported offshore oil drilling , reversing his previous stance .

Sen. Barack Obama wants to keep the ban in place .

Experts say offshore oil drilling would not have an immediate impact on oil prices because oil exploration takes years .

`` If we were to drill today , realistically speaking , we should not expect a barrel of oil coming out of this new resource for three years , maybe even five years , so let 's not kid ourselves , '' said Fadel Gheit , oil and gas analyst with Oppenheimer & Co. . Equity Capital Markets Division .

But it almost certainly would be profitable .

Candida Scott , an oil industry researcher at Cambridge Research Associates , said oil needs to be priced at $ 60 a barrel or more to justify deep-shelf drilling . With oil now selling for $ 145 a barrel , companies are almost assured of profiting from offshore drilling , Scott said .

In his statement last month , Bush also renewed his demand that Congress allow drilling in Alaska 's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge , clear the way for more refineries and encourage efforts to recover oil from shale in areas such as the Green River Basin of Colorado , Utah and Wyoming .

The White House estimates that there are 18 billion barrels of oil offshore that have not been exploited because of state bans , 10 billion to 12 billion in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the Green River Basin .

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End to executive ban on offshore drilling does not affect separate federal law

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President Bush has been urging Congress to repeal law banning offshore drilling

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Offshore drilling ban has become a campaign issue

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John McCain supports ending ban on drilling ; Barack Obama wants to keep it